Men’s Single
Once again, hopes are up and spirits are high, as the competitors battle it
out for US$40,000 prize money and the chance to get crowned as the 2007
Brazilian champ. First up in the waters were Mallory De La Villemarque
(North, France) fresh from his win against Soto yesterday, going up against
teammate Reno Romeu (North, Brazil) in Heat #9. De La Villemarque took with
win via a 3-2 judges decision landing several big mobes including a
kiteloop, slim, front side 5, and regular to switched KGB. Reno equally put
up a good fight landing a kiteloop slim, regular to switched slim and a
heelside backroll with frontside 5 but the French champ displayed more power
and variety. In the second round, current world number three Alvaro Onieva
(Best, Spain) had an easy win against Brazilian Helio Cabrinha Da Silva
(Gokite). Ruben Lenten (Slingshot, Netherlands) also had his second win
going up against Michael Schitzhofer (Naish, Austria) in Heat #10 with more
powered and bigger moves. Shitzhofer rode well with some nice grabbed moves
and regular to switched slims but lost mainly due to higher kite angle and
less power. As expected, Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands) kept his
championship mode on, beating Russian Petr Tyushkevich (Cabrinha) in the
second round of the 10th heat and nearly landing the first kiteloop 7 in
competition. Langeree also landed a mobe 7 and front mobe 5 to seal the win
against Tyushkevich’s front mobe 5, regular to switch slims and a powered
mobe. Italian Alberto Rondina, also a Cabrinha-sponsored rider kept his
fighting chance alive courtesy of an upset win against world number five
Cesar Portas (North, Spain) in the 11th heat. Meanwhile, North-sponsored and
local champ Victor Adamo, having the home advantage also had an upset win
against current world number eight Madison Van Heurck (Naish, U.S.V.I.) in
the 12th heat of the second round. Defending world champion Aarow Hadlow
(Flexifoil, UK) defeated Alex Pastor (Naish, Spain) via power and variety
although there were some comments from the crowd that Pastor should have won
the heat. Pastor landed a mobe 7 and butt checked a 313 7 and a slim 7,
nailing a regular to switched KGB, a mobe 5, front mobe and blind judge with
aerial handle pass. Hadlow equally rode well with regular and switch slim,
mobe to wrapped, double s-bend to blind with aerial handle pass, regular to
switched kiteloop handle pass and kiteloop handle pass to wrapped.
In the quarterfinal rounds, Onieva and De La Villemarque went head to head
in Heat #13. Onieva defeated De La Villemarque with more powered moves,
nailing a mobe to wrapped, regular to switched slims and a big backside 360
of the inside rollers. De La Villemarque landed a nice late pass mobe, KGB,
and a frontside 360 off the kickers. In the second set, Lenten went up
against the all-fired up Langeree and was no match for the Naish champ
who’s bent on winning the Brazilian title this year. The unstoppable
Langeree landed a mobe 7, front mobe 5 and a double back mobe while Lenten
had his usual tricks up his sleeves but lacked technical variation which
eventually became the deciding factor of the game. In the third set, Rondina
easily vested out Monteiro in an easy heat. In the final set of the
quarterfinals, Hadlow also had an easy win and was no match for Adamo who
lost with less technical and powered moves.
An exciting battle ensued in the semifinals as the top three guys from the
PKRA World Rankings plus the surprising entry of the “Italian stallion”
battled it out for a chance at the top three podium spots. Langeree defeated
and outclassed Onieva in the first round of the semifinal. Onieva blew up on
several landings and in a sportsmanship manner, applauded the moves of
Langeree which revved up the crowd at the beach. Hadlow likewise defeated
Rondina in the second round with more power and bigger moves earning the
chance to go up against Langeree in the finals.
The men’s single final was an exciting round as the top PKRA riders went
move for move and head to head to prove who is the best among the best and
has the right to be crowned champion. First up was Onieva against Rondina
for the third place. Onieva was more focused in the heat, stomping most of
his landings while Rondina was perhaps taken by nerves having made it to the
top four, fluffed a few landings. Onieva landed a massive kiteloop 5, KGB
and a backside 360 off the kickers plus a mega powered mobe against
Rondina’s regular to switched KGB and a regular to switched blind judge.
And in the battle for the top podium spot, the top two guys performed over
30 moves between them, going all out to claim the top podium spot. Langeree
started out strong with a huge blind judge with aerial handle pass and a 313
then followed it up with a list of tricks. Hadlow realized that Langeree was
on a mission to win and tried to step it up a notch but came unstuck
searching for extra power and technical tricks, failing to land several
moves. The judges ruled in favor of Langeree 5-0 whose tricks included a
mobe 7, double back mobe, front mobe 5, a huge kiteloop 5 plus his signature
KGB with a low kite that is nearly skimming on the water. Hadlow nailed a
kiteloop bosch mobe 5 but blew up on landing, plus a solid blind judge with
aerial handle pass, s-bend to blind with aerial handle pass and a front
mobe. He also went for a double s-bend to blind with aerial handle pass but
with a high kite angle.
Women’s Single
In the continuation of yesterday’s games, Jalou Langeree (Naish,
Netherlands) was defeated by fellow Naish rider Karolina Winkowska (Poland)
in the start of the second round with a slim, blind judge, front mobe and a
313. Langeree could only manage a raley to blind and a vulcan to surface
pass. Audrey Meyer (EH, France) had an automatic win against local champ and
current world number two Bruna Kajiya (Best) in the 5th Heat who did not
compete because of an injured knee.
In Heat #6, Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland) defeated teammate and
countrywoman Wiktoria Boszko in their match. As expected, the young Spanish
champion Gisela Pulido (Slingshot, Spain) also had a smooth win against
German kiteboarder Susie Mai (Cabrinha) in the second set of the same heat
in round number two.
In the semifinal round, Winkowska once again proved to be the better
kiteboarder by defeating Meyer in Heat #7 while crowd favourite Pulido
pulled away with another win against Grzelinska in the second set of the 7th
heat.
The final round of the women’s single eliminations saw Meyer going up
against Grzelinska in the battle for third spot. Grzelinska landed a couple
of kiteloops and a raley to blind to take the win against Meyer who seemed
was not used to her 6-meter kite or the 6m bar and struggled on some of her
landings although she managed to land a kiteloop and raley. The final also
had a surprising result as Winkowska went up against the young Spanish
kiteboarding champ Pulido in the battle for first place. This time around,
it would be Winkowska’s day as she ran away with an upset victory against
Pulido courtesy of a huge blind judge, slim and a big s-bend to blind with
air pass. Pulido on the other hand, landed a sent handle pass, slim and
blind judge and gave way to the more powered and quicker moves of Winkowska.
Single Elimination Results:
Men:
1. Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands)
2. Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK)
3. Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain)
4. Alberto Rondina (Cabrinha, Italy)
Women:
1. Karolina Winkowska (Naish, Poland)
2. Gisela Pulido (Slingshot, Spain)
3. Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland)
4. Audrey Meyer (EH, France)
Tomorrow will be the start of the double eliminations after the mandatory
skippers meeting of 11:30 am. Be sure to keep your browsers tuned in to
www.extremeelements.tv for some hearth-pumping PKRA videos. Get the latest
travel news, the best hotel rates and sports centers only at
www.extremeelements.com.
KiteXtreme Brazil 2007 is being organized by the Gest Group and co-organized
by Aventur. This premium event is supported by the Piaui local government,
Piemtur, Nova Schin, Newland Toyota, Radio Lideranca 95.1, Cobra d’agua
and Aimbere Eco Resort.
For more information please visit or contact:
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